It's Animalistic
by LoverGurrl411
Summary: He abhors her. She detests him. So why are they having passionate sex! Amidst alien invasions, betrayals, time travel, bombings, and a wedding, you'd think no one has time to actually find love betwixt so many enemies out to get them! CHLEX!
1. The Beginning of the End

**It's Animalistic**

by LoverGurrl411

Summary – He abhors her. She detests him. So why are they having passionate sex? Amidst alien invasions, betrayals, time travel, bombings, and a wedding, you'd think no one has time to actually find love betwixt so many enemies out to get them! CHLEX Eventually.

Chapter 1 – The Beginning of the End

The mansion was stifling with heat that ran through the waves of Chloe's veins. Her blood pumping loud in her ears, resonating in Lex's study. This was the moment where everything changed. Anger turned to passion. Madness turned to sensuality, and Chloe went from yelling to cling to Lex's silk blue shirt. She felt like a traitor as she felt the smoothness of Lex's hairless head.

This was not her's.

She did not want him…but as her leg is raised to his hips, apparently she does.

They pause.

Lex looks into her green-brown eyes, and his hazel ones dilates. It's almost like he's on drugs, and Chloe takes a sharp intake of breath.

All the while, Lex hates her more.

_I love Lana_, his mind screams. But his hand starts roaming her back, until he's reached her arm and then grasps her painfully. He can't seem to stop, so he's determined to make it the angriest moment Chloe has ever felt, and she did feel it. She felt it like a tangible force in her spine, making her cling more to him. There was something all consuming about the heat they were feeling from the fire place. Like a setting, only the rug under their feet and the hearth alight with flames didn't describe romance. Anything of.

"Stop" Chloe says, her voice monotone. Her eyes fierce, and Lex's hand hesitates, and it was enough for Chloe as she pushed herself away from him, putting physical distance, but her body could still feel his hands rough touch. As if he's claimed her, marked her as his own, and Lex reads it in her eyes, and his lips lift as the corner.

"I _don't_ kneel" Lex says, face completely serious. He was making a point and Chloe knew it like the lines on her face. He was telling her that if they had sex, nothing would change. He'd still marry Lana, and she'd have to deal with learning to hate him all over again, because his touch was slowly demolishing her hate to just anger. To resentment. To revulsion, but not hate.

He takes one polished shoe step towards her, giving her space and time to retreat, but everything with them was metaphorical. She doesn't know how to retreat once she's started something, and he didn't know how to stop moving forward once he's taken a first step.

His eyes flicker just above her blonde hair, and sees the moon serving as a halo and takes it as a sign that tonight was a good night to wreck some emotional havoc. And he takes the last few steps until his breath is skimming Chloe's cheek, and she slaps him, a resounding 'wack' reverberated in the room.

He know's why. He's always known it since their first kiss so long ago, long before Lana became his saving grace.

"I'll never forgive you for this" she states, her voice iced with scorn and heat. And just like that, for one moment, Lex was the man he used to be, and his palm reached for her face and removed some strands away from her steady eyes as his next words were spoken almost tenderly.

"I know." And just like that the moment was over and flame engulfed the night as Lex and Chloe fought for control the whole night, until five minutes till dawn, in this same mahogany filled room, two gun shots were heard…and then pandemonium ensued.

A.N. - Hello reader's! This is not just my writing, this was a joint effort with a friend Pixie! :) So, was it too cliché? Too short? Not enough description. I've honestly never written a Chlex before and I soooo wanted to do a good job on their characters. Was it OutOfCharacter? Well, let us know and Read and Review!

P.S. Song we were listening to in this chapter was "Falling" by Mike Posner.


	2. The Enemy of Me

**It's Animalistic**

by LoverGurrl411

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the well…plot. '

Chapter 2- The Enemy of Me

"Lex" Chloe whispered, as she shook him awake. "Lex, wake up!" Her voice harsh.

"What is it?" Lex responds, annoyance lacing his groggy voice.

"I heard a gun shot!" Chloe stated, she shook him hard. The rug they were using to shield the cold falling to the side. Lex immediately gets up and throws his pants on, the black color contrasting against his skin in the night. It took him one blink from Chloe to throw them on and be behind the desk getting his silver revolver from under it. He check if it was loaded and closed it back up in three seconds…two clicks…and Chloe wasn't surprised.

"You always sleep with a gun under your pillow?" Chloe asked sarcastically while throwing something on. He doesn't deign the question with a response and instead presses the button that calls for security.

"No one is answering." Lex states, his voice the same monotone as always, but his eyes alert. Chloe goes to stand in front of him and raises an eyebrow, an obvious challenge.

"Stay behind me" he whispers, as he moves around her slowly opening the door.

It squeaks, and they both pause for a heartbeat.

"Where did you hear the shot?" Lex questioned as they continued forward almost blind.

"Outside" Her voice tight and anxious.

They heard moans coming from the garden once they made it outside. Lex held the gun as if it was another one of his limbs, as if it was an extension of his arm.

As they see someone laying on the grass, blood pooling around him, Chloe rushes ahead of Lex and drops to the ground.

"It's one of your guards" Chloe croaks out, bending over, trying to asses if he was alive.

"Where are the rest?" Lex said while looking around. He never bent down to check on the guard and Chloe never expected him to.

"Who did this to you?" Lex asks the guard, his tone sharp, while Chloe's hands were drenched in blood trying to stop the bleeding.

The night was quiet and cold except for the next words that rung out.

"It was you" the guard spoke, his voice breathless.

Chloe's eyes locked with Lex's and the surprised she witnessed on his face couldn't be faked. His mouth was just a bit parted, and his eyebrows were drawn up high, and Chloe remembered vividly feeling his body heat all night.

The guard never spoke again that night, but they never noticed as the sun started rising high from the east, but only Chloe could see it since Lex was facing west.

"We have a problem" Chloe spoke, her shoulders tense like a cobra.

"Yes, we've surmised that" Lex clipped out. His eyes drifting fast to the body as he spoke the words, then back to Chloe's face.

"Not that problem," She spoke as she pushed away from the body and moving next to Lex, still facing eastward. "_That_ problem" she spoke sharply, while pointing her head forward.

Lex turned around in a swift movement, that his arm lightly brushed against hers, and saw a silhouette approaching.

"Lana." Lex whispered.


	3. Raining Memories

It's Animalistic

By LoverGurrl411

Disclaimer – I own nothing but the *hopefully wonderful* plot. Don't sue! :)

The Song I was listening to was "Hate Every Beautiful Day" by SugarCult.

Chapter 3 – Raining Memories

Chloe stood frozen, blocking the view of the body lying on the ground behind her and Lex. His body was warm next to Chloe's in the cool night air. They didn't need to speak to each other to know that they needed to be in sync once Lana approached, but it didn't make Chloe feel any less disgusted with herself. Words weren't needed to degrade Chloe, she'd done it all on her own only a few hours earlier.

Lana was almost upon them, but they didn't bother to formulate a plan. Chloe fell on classic Lex Mode: when unsure, revert to silence.

"What's going on?" Lana asked, her face drawn together in confusion.

"We don't exactly know ourselves" answered Lex, deceptively honest and calm. Inside he was a mess of confusion, but outside he was a solid rock.

"What do you mean? What are you doing here Chloe?" Lana asked. Her piercing gaze swept over and through Chloe, as if she had some unknown power to see into Chloe's mind, and for a second Chloe marinated on the thought. This _was_ Smallville. Weirder things had happened. But she threw the thought away with a blink of her eyes, because though this was the town of all things weird and unexplained, accusing Lana of having mysterious hidden super powers was just too out there, even for Chloe, but she was not above noticing that Lana apparently wasn't faithful to Lex, and feeling a sliver of pleasure knowing that Lex might know and be feeling pain.

'_Good' _thought Chloe. _'Let him feel pain. He's caused enough'_ …But really, it might just have been the rampant thought of a woman bitter for seemingly always coming second to Lana Lang. Infidelity was proof that Lana wasn't perfect.

But Chloe knew exactly who she had been with, and the thought that Clark realized Lana's flaw, yet still didn't obviously care was like seeing the blazing iron coming to brand her, and not being able to move away. But not in front of Lex. Not in front of Lana. They wouldn't see her burn.

About three beats had passed and Chloe realized she'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't bothered finding a suitable answer. Time was a complex thing weaved into the intricacies of all the relationships that surround her. But Lex had an answe`r. Lex always has an answer. It's who he is, Chloe realized suddenly, and it's who he'll always be. As the thought came crashing around her, Chloe felt the old feeling of admiration mixed with loathing creep into her, and she was more angry than she'd been earlier tonight.

"Chloe felt it had been a while since I'd been privy to the sermons' of the Kent pulpit." Lex spoke, his voice carefully neutral.

"At this hour?" Lana continued her questioning, and anyone with hearing could note that Lana wasn't sold, and that she'd make a fine Luther, considering she went right along with Lex's explanation, taking it to mean Chloe had unraveled another one of Lex's dirty little secrets.

"Speaking of this hour, love, where are you coming from exactly?" Lex asked silkily. _It was just like him_, thought Chloe, _to completely brush off an accusation and switch it around_.

But if Chloe was honest with herself, it was exactly that same quality that had drawn her to him so long ago, in the safe house.

"_Come on, Lex! All I'm saying is that it's mighty suspicious that the day Lana goes off to Paris, you and Clark are suddenly enemies!" Chloe insisted, with her reporter million dollar smile, as she ate chocolate cake off Lex's plate, fighting with his spoon for a piece. She knew there was a story there, and just like all her life, she always followed a story. But Lex was another entity entirely, and just like with the cake, everything with Lex was an epic battle. Nothing was just given. _

_She wasn't used to dealing with men that always had a good plan, on a daily basis. She needed a reprieve, but with Lex there was none, so Chloe adapted. She was, however, used to dealing with people that kept everything close to their chests, so that was one-up she had on Lex, and though small, the victory wasn't any less satisfying. _

"_What exactly is this fascinating obsession that you have for our hero-complexed friend of ours?" Lex rebutted, with an easy going smile. One of his rare few, though his eyes never glinted any less with that predatory calculation. It was the first of the many times they shared, where they played the same interesting game of Chloe chasing for answers, and Lex eagerly awaiting the accusation or question to easily sidestep it and bring it around to her. _

_It was a game that became an intricate part of their unconventional friendship. Just like chocolate cake._

It had been a comfortable routine they'd settled in. Comfortable yet unnerving, because nothing with Lex was ever simple and easy going. Only on the surface did it appear to be. And nothing ever lasted with him either, just like that summer in the safe house was just a distant memory of a foolishly inquisitive girl and a dangerously secretive man.

"_Why is it that you never seem to sleep more than five hours a night?" Chloe had asked Lex one night sitting on the couch in the living room, staring steadily at the interaction between Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on the television._

"_Did you know that early man, only slept at night because there was no light?" Lex answered, which didn't seem like much of an answer at all to Chloe, but she remained quiet just the same. Lex always made sense, and always had a point, even if it wasn't one you wanted to hear or didn't understand just yet. So, she sat, quiet, with the television on mute for about two minutes before Lex continued._

"_There was no light so they couldn't see their prey reasonably enough to hunt. They slept because they had no other choice but to sleep or waste the night away doing nothing, except for one man that was designated every night to watch over the group, to make sure no animals came and attacked, catching the hunters unawares." Lex finished. The air in the room had chilled as Lex spoke, but there was something defining about the story that made Chloe sit still and just listen and watch. She watched Lex for a minute or two, trying to comprehend the intricacies of the man without knowing all of the intricacies in the first place. _

"_Who are you hunting?" Chloe finally asked, unable to deal with her confusion in the lightly lit room._

"_No one" Lex responded. And just like that Chloe understood that Lex wasn't the hunter in the story, at least not in this safe house. Here he was the watchman making sure no one came and attacked. And though the notion was ridiculous to Chloe, she irrationally felt a tiny bit safer. _

_And just like that the spell of unintentional and barely heard confessions was broken and the television wasn't on mute anymore, and Chloe and Lex watched Lucy and Ricky Ricardo…content in their roles, whatever they were. _

"What are you insinuating, Lex?" Lana replied, harshly. She was on the defensive, but Chloe knew it was only because Lex was right on the mark with his insinuation.

But just like that, Chloe felt extremely out of place. It was as if she were interrupting an intimate domestic argument.

_Domestic_, thought Chloe. The word itself made her cringe. Lana was fooling herself into this marriage, and though Chloe knew she should step up and be the good friend and give Lana a reason to leave in the middle of the night and never come back, she just couldn't. Something invisible was holding her back, and when Lex visibly hunched for a second and looked tired, she knew what had been _it_.

Lana's feelings for Lex may be the product of a rebound gone south but Lex's feelings for her were real. As real as it was possible for Lex to feel, and if Chloe was honest with herself, she had no clue how deep that really was. She had never attempted finding out.

"Lana, I'm sorry, it's late. Why don't you go upstairs to bed and I'll meet you there in a few seconds." Lex said more tenderly and apologetic then Chloe had ever heard him speak and she was inexplicably unsteady. This was a Lex she didn't know, because no matter what had ever transpired between them, Lex was always…Lex. Cruel, passionate, calculating. But this was nothing like that man, and Chloe suddenly wasn't too sure which side was his grand façade, and innately she knew she was worried it was the side he'd always shown her.

Lex went to embrace Lana quickly, and gave her a peck on the forehead, and in those few moments, he'd forgotten about why they had been standing side by side. To block the view of the dead body.

Chloe wasn't anticipating Lex's movement, too caught up in her internal dissection of him, and so when Lex went to move, Chloe was a half second behind him to late, and the gasp from Lana proved it.

"What happened?" Lana demanded, rushing foreword to the body lying on the floor. The blood making for a morbid picture on apparently what was going to be a sunny day, as Chloe looked out on the beautiful west that was being lighted by the sun from the east.

Chloe looked to Lex. Anxiety was gripping her because a lot had happened, but with the appearance of Lana, she hadn't had time to dissect any of it.

"We don't know" Chloe answered, her voice strong despite everything.

Lana suddenly sprang up and jostled Chloe by grabbing her hand fiercely, and Chloe realized that Lana was inspecting her bloody hands. Hands that she'd forgotten completely about.

Hands that no one had noticed in the quickly leaving dark, but with the coming light of day it was too visible.

"You don't know?" Lana questioned, and both Chloe and Lex were very aware that Lana was quickly losing her composure and attitude of 'what happens between you guys I _suppose _is none of my business'.

Chloe felt like a cad because she had an answer, it just didn't make any sense. Apparently Lex shot the man, but it wasn't physically possible because Lex had been lying right next to Chloe. The reminder of last night however forced Chloe to look away from Lana, guilt picking at the corners of her heart.

Lex decided to step in, and the answer he gave was so Lutheran that Chloe almost let out a conspiratorial smirk, but withdrew it, with the sudden anger that erupted. They were not conspirators, they weren't even friends anymore.

_No, you're sordid lovers, _Chloe's mind raged quietly.

"We don't have a clue. One minute we were inside in my study, and the next there was a gunshot. We ran outside but whoever had pulled the trigger was long gone." Lex had said. He had given the facts exactly as they had happened, without telling one lie. Except if lying by omission counted, but of course it didn't. This is Smallville, where no one tells the entire truth.

"We should call the police" Lana started, pulling out her cell phone from her purse that had been hanging off her shoulder the entire time, but Chloe had never noticed.

"That's not a good idea" Chloe stated, mind raging thirty thousand miles per second for an excuse that wasn't a lie. Chloe didn't know why just yet, but she felt it deep within her veins that this was an important moment. Maybe more important than anything she'd ever done protecting Clark.

"Why not?" Lana asked, eyebrows forming a "v" allowing Chloe to see that Lana was extremely suspicious by this point.

"Because, this looks really bad, and all the lawyers in the world can't sway the jury with this situation" Chloe stated logically, applying the brilliance she learned from Lex, compartmentalization. She'd deal with her own emotional baggage another time. Right now she needed to focus, think, and plan, and none of that could be done with Lana near her, forcing her to lie instead of deduce what in the _heck_ happened.

"I'm not following, Chloe. A man is dead, looking bad right now shouldn't matter." Lana stated fiery, obviously taking the moral high ground, and for once in her life, Chloe was actually irritated at all the morality lectures that everyone has seemed to pick up from the now dead Jonathan Kent.

"I know what you're saying, Lana, but you're forgetting the bigger picture of me and Lex not wanting to go to jail for murder. Look at it from anyone else's point of view. A man is dead, and only Lex and I were around. No alibi but each other. For all anyone else knows, we probably killed him together." Chloe tried to rationalize to Lana, guilt starting to seep in knowing exactly what everyone in this town will think.

'_They'd assume we were having an affair and the guard caught us. A plea for silence ensued, the guard wouldn't comply so we killed him' _Chloe thought, with a penetrating sorrow that brought her eyes to Lex, who was gazing right back at her.

But this second of a glance between them didn't solidify them in this situation, but hauled them apart further because Chloe was sad that the rumors that would spread were half true and Lana was perceptive enough to catch the truth behind it sooner than anyone would like, while Lex wasn't sad at all. Merely, unsure of what exactly he was feeling, but working out an angle all the same for every emotion that ran through him. Chloe knew this and despised Lex for it.

It was because of all this and much more that went unsaid between them that Lex spoke up, looking directly at Lana, but not seeing her. Only seeing Clark's farmer hands replacing his everywhere he'd ever touched her.

"Chloe's right. This wouldn't look good for us any way we spin it. And a story spinned is all you need to convict. We should know. We put my father behind bars with that same strategy." Lex spoke clearly. His face a mask that Chloe was used to seeing. It was his Spartan face she'd always said, name courtesy of him.

_Chloe was in the kitchen of the safe house, eating chocolate cake with strawberries. Chloe and Lex had just finished watching Murder By Numbers, the movie, on the television, and were discussing the movie in the kitchen. Why the kitchen? There was no valid reason; it was just another dynamic in their relationship. _

"_What do you think is the perfect murder?" Chloe asked jokingly with an inviting smile. Her golden hair shinning from all the oil Lex insisted she put on earlier in the day. Suffice it to say that cosmetic experiment had been a bad idea and after three shampoos her hair was still reflecting the light in the room. _

_The air in the room suddenly chilled, and there was an eerie silence that accompanied it that made Chloe completely sure that Lex was truly contemplating it, and just like that Chloe wasn't joking anymore. Suddenly she wanted to have a real answer. There was shame building in a corner in Chloe's mind, because she knew Clark would be disappointed that her mind had turned to such serious and dangerous thoughts, but the truth of the matter is that being with Lex, day after day, having talks about politics and etc., made Chloe a completely different person from when she is with Clark. Clark made Chloe righteous to the point of nunnery and nomination of sainthood, while Lex made her objective to the point of impeachability; to the point of action. _

"_The perfect murder would be a murder of someone that you have no ties to." Lex answered. His face devoid of any emotion accept a thrill of contemplation."No one could link you to the person or the place, because no one knew who you were, because no one saw you." There was a certain high one can get from the thought of committing a perfect crime and not being caught."The perfect murder could only be implemented by someone completely forgettable, in a forgettable town." The face itself was a mask of pleasurable calculation. _

"_You know, you get this face when you contemplate action. It's sufficiently scary" Chloe said, a lilt in her voice suggesting laughter and jest. But the voice didn't impact Lex because he viewed what she didn't want him to, the canniness in her eyes. Because of this Lex didn't bother with a repartee, and instead went to stand right in front of Chloe. Chloe turned around to face him as he rounded the island in the kitchen, her back against the counter now, as Lex raised his hands, tilted down some, and now practically boxed Chloe in his arms. _

_His face was only centimeters away from Chloe, and the air was charged with coiled tension. _

"_You're not afraid of me, Chloe." Lex spoke, his breath rustling the honey strands that were in Chloe's face. _

"_No. I'm not" Chloe responded, knowing this moment would change their affiliation forever. Something intangible was growing within the air that was separating them. Something rugged, and virile. _

"_The Spartans were the best warriors known to mankind" Lex began slowly, feeling every word in his mouth. "They lived for the hunt, and the kill." Lex somehow got imperceptibly closer. _

"_A true Spartan should always feel excitement about a moment that could change everything; A kill." Lex finished, but did not move back away from Chloe, and as if there was a hunter inside Chloe, she knew innately that Lex was waiting to see her next move. _

"_A Spartan's face" Chloe began, while lifting her hand until it reached Lex's face, and she outlined his jaw with her finger tips, barely brushing his skin. _

"_You have one too" Lex said, never flinching from her touch, eyes keeping constant contact. Her legs parted slightly, enough to welcome Lex to stand in between her legs, though his lips never moved closer to her. And just like that, there was a name to the thing that was hanging in the air between them. Desire. _

"_I know" Chloe said as she let her hand fall from Lex's face and roam his shoulder, gripping tightly, though she had no real clue as to what drove the desire to be just that. _

_It was true however, that she did know she had the same face as him, because they were both alike in so many ways. Morally questionable, and ethically uncertain, but both striving with all their might to learn to be sufficiently righteous and moral to meet Clark Kent's approval. They both went after things with a ferocity that was perilous and were merciless with discovering truth, and all risk be damned. They both wore Spartan faces because they felt the distorted sexual ecstasy of being so close to danger, and escaping. _

_A minute passed, and a sigh broke away from Lex, and Chloe and Lex simultaneously moved away from each other._

_They went back to the living room, tuned in to I Love Lucy and laughed and joked with each other with their sarcastic barbs, and caustic ways, but the stigma of their newfound mutual sense of sexuality for the other had permanently left its brand._

"So what are we supposed to do?" Lana spoke concerned, snapping Chloe out of her memory. And it was moments like this that reminded Chloe why she considered Lana her best friend. Though Lana was not there when the man was killed, and could have easily demanded, like Clark would have, to do the right thing and call the police, she instead rolled with the punches and transformed right before Chloe's eyes, into what Chloe needed. A friend that would do what was necessary to protect fellow friend. But somehow, Lana didn't see anything morally corrupt with what her question was simply implying and neither did Chloe, but Chloe knew this was the price you paid to know and converse with Lex. After a while, the lines defining what is _truly_ morally corrupt blended until nothing out of your reach seemed without integrity to grab.

"Nothing. You should do nothing. It's best if you're not involved, in case this blows up in our faces." Chloe answered her, only half lying. It was true that she felt it was best if Lana wasn't involved, but there was no chance that whatever action Chloe and Lex would take would blow up in their faces. They're both too meticulous for that to occur.

"But I could help-" Lana started, shoulders squared as if she were preparing for a battle.

"You can, but not yet. You can help by keeping the hounds off our back while Chloe and I find some answers." Lex interrupted. His voice strong but velvety soft, but as the words were spoken Lex glanced at Chloe swiftly, obviously trying to gauge if Chloe would go along with his currently voiced plan. It was strange but in that second they were bonded against the world with Lana, but against Lana together.

TBC

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	4. My Own Worst Enemy

It's Animalistic

By LoverGurrl411

Disclaimer – I own nothing. Don't sue! :)

A.N – So sorry for the long wait! I know you guys who read this story probably want to kill me, but what can I say besides I clearly have to work on my work ethic :/ But, I was on vacation in D.R. and inspiration struck! I've written this chapter and the next :) I'll post the next chapter in a few days or next week Sunday depending on responses to this one. Hope everyone enjoys!

_I need to feel alive. Do you remember how it feels? _

_Remember anything at all? … She says I'm lovely, and she falls beneath me._

_But one thing's always there…and I need a better day. _

-A Better Day by Thriving Ivory

Chapter 4 –My Own Worst Enemy

It's been three days, and Lex was in his office, drinking bourbon. He was wearing a crisp green shirt and black slacks, almost as if today had been a normal day, but it wasn't. Lex couldn't get out of his head the image of a man dying and blaming him. There was a slight breeze that permeated deep into his bones, and he shivered.

KNOCK KNOCK.

He turns around and there is his reflection. Vertigo spun his world around and if he had a full heart, it would have broken. The reflection of himself had no emotion in his eyes. It was like looking into a soulless entity, and he was almost afraid.

'_Is this what Chloe sees when she looks at me?'_ Lex can't help but wonder. His mind conjured the image of blonde hair spilled over his silk covered pillow. He tries to reign in the memory, but images of Chloe writhing in his bed cling to his every brain cell and he is trapped in his own mind for a few heartbeats, until finally he mentally slaps himself. He needs to remember to burn that whole bed later on today. No way would he be able to lay asleep in those sheets with Lana breathing next to him. It would be worse than the first time he had slept with Lana:

_Lex's heart beat furiously as his body plunged into Lana. She moaned, but all he could think was 'Chloe doesn't moan like that'._

_It was a mantra in his mind, and it was all he could do not to suddenly stop and just roll off Lana. Lex keeps on telling Lana he loves her, but the words feel like sawdust in his mouth. His eyes can practically see his soul shriveling before him. Lana may be his love or at least Lex likes to think so. It's more comfortable for him that way. But Chloe was his soul. She was that driving force in his world that pushed him to be greater, and to be warmer, and to just be … __**more**__._

_It's because with Lana, she expects him to be this savior. Maybe not to the extent of which she expects of Clark, but she expects him to be a better man than he actually is. Chloe knows the kind of man Lex is, she just believed that he can be this grand man. . _

_Chloe moved him to lengths of himself that he never thought he'd chase, but with that same might, he toppled over until all he had left of Chloe was the faint memory of what she once was to him. It was that haunting memory that wouldn't let him enjoy Lana's ferocity in being owned by him. _

_Lana clung to his body like wet clothes clung to the unlucky, and Lex shivered from momentary self-disgust. He was being weak. There was no need to let the remembrance of another woman who chose another to ruin what he now had. He had Lana, and that should be enough. 'It would be enough' Lex reassured himself. _

_But even so, it took him three weeks to be able to worship Lana's body without the aching pain in the chore of his chest. Victory had never had such a foul taste. Eventually, Lex had to let go. _

But he hadn't learned. Not really. And so, Chloe resumed her presence in his mind. She wasn't at the forefront as he gained control of himself, but she was there, in the background, whispering promises of 'always' that apparently never meant anything at all.

But as he shifted from one leg to the other, the reflection didn't move with him. It stayed still, a perfect replica of a statue and Lex realized that this was _not_ him and he wasn't hallucinating or going crazy. With that realization, a headache was officially born.

"How…" Lex trailed off in a shocked breathy voice.

"Not how. Why?" Alter-Lex spoke, and his voice seemed foreign in a way. It lacked the smoothness that was innate inside of the true Lex Luthor.

"Who are you?" Lex demands. His shoulders straighten and his chest puffs out. It was the man that everyone in Smallville had come to know. Dominant, and demanding and sure of what he wanted.

"I'm you" Alter-Lex said with a slight smirk, and he turned and walked out of the office.

Lex didn't move. Shock settled into his bones, and confusion riddled him for once in a very long time useless. After a beat or two, he picked up the phone on his table.

He dialed 1 for security. When they picked up immediately he gave the orders for the tapes recording the grounds from all week to be sent up to him.

When he hung up, his shoulders squared and he prepared himself mentally for a battle, just as his fingers dialed a number he'd dialed many times before. It felt familiar in a way only homemade apple pie by a grandmother or sleeping in the bed you had as a child do.

"Chloe Sullivan" Chloe spoke into the phone. She saw the caller id and knew who was calling, but pettiness had suddenly captured her into its midst, and she wanted Lex to feel as if she didn't remember him. She wanted him to feel unworthy of remembering. But Lex knew she remembered. It was in the professional way she'd answered her phone, and in the way he could picture her green eyes lit up with confusion as to why he was calling her. Sure, they were meant to be figuring out why there was a dead guy in Lex's garden but really? She hadn't expected him to call her. She had expected him, in true Luthor fashion, to make her fight her way into investigating the murder.

Everything with Lex had always been a battle, and Chloe wasn't about to believe that things would change now. Even the little affection she'd earned from him was exactly that: _earned._ She'd fought his heart tooth and nail once upon a time to get that tiny piece of him…the same piece that wanted her in his office in front of the roaring fire.

Lex stayed quiet. He didn't say anything at all, and in his own way he was pushing Chloe into a corner with him and the situation; either give up and acknowledge that she knows it's Lex and be a part of the investigation or don't acknowledge their past and have to claw and scratch for every piece of information on the unofficial case.

Chloe broke, and she saw a tiny portion of her dignity leave her and flow through the cracks in the room. She clutched the phone tighter, angry but unable to show it for that would mean just losing another battle with Lex: the battle of composure.

"What do you want Lex? Or are you enjoying the joys of new age stalking, breathing heavy on the phone?" Chloe said caustically. It was the only way to redeem herself in her own eyes…and his too. The Chloe he knew would have never given in easily and it gave him an odd sort of comfort to know that some things don't change.

"Not quite. I just got a visit from our mystery killer" Lex said. He turned around and looked out the window and saw the sky blend into the clouds.

"Who was it?" Chloe demanded, intrigued. But her voice lasted forever in his mind. Her unique tone washing over him, and he cursed the day he had ever let her kiss him so long ago…it felt like a lifetime ago. A time when they could call each other to just say hello, but that time had passed when she swore her allegiance to the piousness of the Kent Family.

"Me." Lex said firmly, though he barely believed it himself. Just another loose end in his life. He felt exhausted and wished that the wedding would just happen. It would finally be something that had gone right.

Chloe didn't say anything. She knew it had to be something out of the Clark Kent mystery from the universe page, and she was unsure that if she allowed herself to get entangled with Lex in this that she would lose herself to the person Lex could be proud of loving…the complete opposite of the Chloe Clark considers his best friend.

The quiet was filled with indecision and the reminiscences of yesterday. A yesterday they were both too unsure of how they felt about it.

"I'm on my way" Chloe whispered into the phone. It felt dirty, but what else could she do? She wasn't like Clark and in the end of the day, around Lex, she never needed to try to be. Her curiosity ruled her, and just like three days ago when she had sinned and let Lex remind her of the pleasures of smooth hands and rough love…she just couldn't say no to Lex. Not really. Not ever. And the realization came with a bitter taste of resentment towards Lex, and towards Clark for tempting her to say 'no' in the first place.

"I'll bring the cake" Lex said and hurriedly hung up. He said it on impulse, and Chloe knew it. It was a sentiment that he hadn't forgotten or wasn't immune to the memory of them as a once-upon-a-time, and as crushingly weird as it sounded, it did make Chloe feel better.

-TBC-

A.N- So? What did everyone think? Hated it, loved it? I'm trying to keep the story moving along but you guys know how hard that is. :D

I also can't seem to remember if I responded to reviews so here are the responses:

Robin – Thank you so much! You're review was just the push I needed to get writing.

DannyGrangerMalfoy – Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I see you are a Granger/Malfoy fan so if you're interested you could check out my story for them called "Tangible Fear" :)

Fruitbat00 – Thanks! I'm very happy that you're liking the story…and thanks about the gun bit! Me and my co-writer friend-who-doesn't-write-and-only-says-what-should-happen-and-than-bails *do I sound angry? Haha* argued about that, and I'm glad you were on my side! Lol.


	5. Everything In Between

Disclaimer – I don't own anything but agency of myself, so don't sue.

A.N – Sorry that I haven't updated as soon as I said I would. My grams passed away and everything just got…hectic. But I would like to thank everyone that still reads this story, and I hope everyone truly enjoys this chapter. R&R! :)

It's Animalistic

By LoverGurrl411

_I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited, _

_But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it. I had hoped that you'd see my face_

_And that you'd be reminded that for me it isn't over._

_-Someone Like You, _Adele

Chapter 5 – Everything In Between

Chloe was on her way to Lex's mansion. His office planted in the center of the manor and yet Chloe felt…exhilarated. She felt anxious and moved simultaneously, all because she didn't know what to expect. She'd told Lex that she was on her way, but what would she do once she got there. He obviously had a plan of action since he'd called her, but she needed to have her own plan.

If she wanted to survive Lex Luthor she would need a plan. She would need a strategy. That's just the way things worked with them. That's just the way things worked with Lex and _everyone_.

She could see the manor from up the road. It was getting closer and closer, and becoming more daunting as the seconds ticked by.

She arrived and her heart leaped. '_Get yourself together Chlo. Game face time'_ she thought to herself. She could feel her face transforming into a cold hearted bitch. _This_ was who she was around Lex. She was unforgiving, and hardened, and she wouldn't forget that he had pulled her close three days ago. Four if one was thinking technically. She would make him pay for making her give in to his touch. That was just the kind of person Lex turned her into.

She got out of the car and walked straight through the front door. None of the guards stopped her. No one said anything to her. She was after all maid of honor of the soon-to-be Mrs. Lex Luthor. She had ample reason to be in the house. It also helped that she shared a history here in this house, and the guards didn't seem to change. They were mostly all the same ones that had been around when she first met Lex freshman year – except the ones that had died and of course needed to be replaced.

"Glad you could spare some time in your busy schedule Chloe" Lex spoke as she entered his office. The same place that she'd christened with her moans and screams of passion. He had his back to her, but somehow he always knew when she arrived. Maybe it was her heels that gave her away. His words seemed harmless to the outsider, but Chloe knew better. It was his way of mocking the fact that she seemed to have dropped everything she had been doing just to come running here.

"Anything for a friend" Chloe smirked cheekily. They weren't friends. They hadn't been friends in a long time. "So, not that this isn't nice but tell me you didn't call me all the way over here just for the trip down memory lane?" Chloe continued as she cockily made herself comfortable in the sofa facing his desk.

Lex felt that familiar heat in his stomach that always sparked when Chloe came with her warrior words. She was fierce and he fell in place with the familiarity of the barbs and insinuations.

"You know me too well, Chloe. Drink?" Lex said tauntingly as he went to the bar. He was testing her patience on purpose. Lex could practically feel the irritation rolling off Chloe in waves, but she kept it in check. She wasn't about to give Lex ground. Not here when he already had home court advantage.

"Yes, thank you. Brandy, if you have it" Chloe responded. Of course he would have it, but she knew that the doubt would grate on his nerves. She used to love to say that to him when they were in the safe house. 'If you have it'.

Lex didn't respond, but instead just went ahead and poured the drinks. He did it diligently and with the practice of a man who'd done it a million times. He sat down at his desk and passed her the drink, as a true gentlemen would, but Chloe already knew his game. She knew he wanted her to graze his skin. Lex was aware of the effect it would have on her, and so was Chloe.

"You can just put it right there, thanks." Chloe spoke as she acted as if she was searching her purse. Lex smiled, a genuine smile. A smile that had Chloe caught it, she would have been in a horrible mood the rest of the day.

"I've had security bring me the tapes of this week for us to peruse at our leisure. We can start whenever you're ready." Lex stated as he shuffled through the tapes in his hand.

"If you just give me half, I can watch it on my own time and bring them back to you tomorrow or the day after." Chloe stated, but she knew he would never go for that. Lex just raised his eyebrow and didn't dignify her request with a response. He stood up and Chloe followed suit. As they were on their way out the door, Chloe completely confused as to where they were going, Lana dropped into the scene.

She was wearing a dark purple dress that clung to her small waist and flowed around her knees. It obviously cost her more than what Chloe made in a month, and Chloe decided that Lana looked the picture of a Mrs. Luthor.

"Hey guys." Lana said as she gave Lex a kiss on his cheek. Chloe was mildly disgusted wondering if she had been with Clark today, but put on her best-friend-smile, anyway. "Where are you two off to?" Lana asked.

Always asking questions. '_That wouldn't do if she would make a good and proper wife for Lex,'_ Chloe thought to herself but stayed quiet because she didn't know where they were going. She was following Lex simply on faith that he wouldn't murder her in his own house where even the chef knew her by name. Faith. It was a lie. It had been a long time since she had any blind faith in Lex. What she did have was trust that she knew him well enough to know what he was and wasn't willing to do.

"We're going to watch the footage of the grounds from this week in Chloe's room." Lex responded nonchalantly. Lana looked confused at the statement, but Chloe felt as if the air had been stolen from her lungs and she was slowly suffocating on her pounding heartbeat. Her room he had said. _Her room._

"_What is this?" Chloe had asked the summer she had been on lock down. Lex had broken her free from her cage to take her to the mansion for a surprise. She had had a fight with her father and Lex thought a surprise would lift her spirits._

"_This is your room in the manor." Lex responded with a small smile. The smile spoke volumes of how close they had become that Chloe could decipher what the small lift of his lips meant. He wanted her to like the room. He was slightly uncomfortable because he was nervous that she wouldn't like the room. _

"_Thanks…" Chloe trailed off. She loved the room, but she didn't understand. "Look at me. A little princess to be. Better be careful, Lex. Next thing you know, I might actually start to believe it." Chloe joked, but it was her way of asking what this was all about. She couldn't ask outright though, because that would be giving up something invisible. It would be giving up the knowledge to Lex openly that she didn't know his thought process as well as she liked for him to believe. _

_Lex saw everything though, but left her with her dignity. Her crowned eyes were one of the things he adored about sparring with her, and he could never purposely take it away from her. _

"_Don't worry, I trust your head will always be able to fit through the door." Lex teased. He was comfortable knowing that the gesture he'd made hadn't changed anything. All it had done was add another element to the entity they called 'them'. "I wanted you to have a place where you could always go if you need a place to sleep. No matter if we're angry with each other – anything. This is your room and it'll stay your room." _

_Chloe heard the words he said but saw the sentiment behind it. They were family now. Not like Clark and him – they fought and hated each other more times than they loved each other. Chloe and Lex were now family in the way that they would always care and be there for the other even if they hated each other. Not only in life or death situations like Clark and Lex._

_They were forever linked. _

_Chloe flung her arms around him and hugged him tight. Lex hesitated – unused to the affection – but after a moment wrapped his arms around Chloe's waist. He buried his head in her hair, and felt the feeling of home that he had lacked after his mother had died. _

_That battle had been a draw because they both showed too much emotion, but neither of them had cared. _

Chloe realized when he spoke about her room that he had meant what he had said so long ago. Her room was still in the manor because she was family and there would always be a place for her in his home and dinner table; even if they were on different sides and she had chosen Clark over him metaphorically.

"You guys are going all the way to Chloe's apartment to watch footage?" Lana asked. Her head was tilted and she portrayed class and friendship even in the simplest of movements. Chloe wondered if Lana would be okay with knowing how close Chloe and Lex really were. Sure, Lana seemed fine now, but it was only because she believed Chloe was trying to bury the hatchet with Lex for her sake. Lana thought that Chloe was pretending, and in truth maybe she was. But it definitely wasn't for Lana.

"No. I have a room here." Chloe finally took control and spoke. She wasn't an invalid, and she wasn't about to start acting meek just because Lex had caught her off guard. Lex grinned a bit, and began to walk, Lana and Chloe trailing behind him. His strides were long, but neither woman felt the need to catch up to him.

This was definitely news to Lana, but she wasn't like Chloe. Chloe had spent enough time with Lex to learn the art of manipulation and subtle hints. Lana was just like Clark in that aspect. They felt they didn't need manipulation and subtly because they believed that as long as they were honest and straight forward with anything and everything that they would be given straight forward and truthful answers. They were clearly wrong, but no one had the heart to tell them, compounded by the fact that they wouldn't appreciate such opinions.

"When did you get a room here?" Lana asked. Her eyebrows were faintly furrowed.

"The summer I was supposedly dead. Me and Lex got pretty close." Chloe answered. Definitely understatement, but Chloe didn't care. She knew Lana would never dare to ask 'how close?'

"Wow. It's crazy, how you and Lex were apparently so close that you had a room in his house but now you guys can barely stand to be on the same street at the same time" Lana tried her hand at leading a conversation a certain route. She failed miserably because Chloe saw exactly what she was trying to push at. Unity. Harmony. Lana wanted everyone to get along, but life didn't work that way. Realty didn't work that way.

Lex was far enough ahead that Chloe could answer without her usual mask that she wore around him.

"Lana, me and Lex are family. Just because we don't agree on a lot of things doesn't make that any less true. We're still close…"

'_You don't want to know how close' _Chloe thought mid-sentence.

"We just show it to each other in our way. I didn't have a room once upon a time. I have a room here, and I hope you're comfortable with that." Chloe finished. She had summoned all her good will feelings of being a good friend to Lana to say that honestly while still omitting certain truths that should never be spoken of.

Lana heard everything Chloe said and she suddenly felt horrible for treating Lex the way she had been and then talking to Chloe about it. Chloe had never once called Clark family. She'd called him her best friend, and has said that he was like a brother to her, but never had she called him family outright the way she had just called Lex. Lana noticed that and she noticed that Chloe was trying to smooth her into this revelation. Lana truly felt horrid, and she knew words could never make up for her actions, but if Lana had learned anything from Lex it was that words still went a long way even if it didn't fix.

"Chloe," Lana began. "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know that you and Lex were so close – family. And I know the way I've acted in the past hasn't been above reproach, but I am your friend. And as your friend I see a lot of things about you and it's honestly so powerful to know that the man I love – though I haven't been showing it – has earned such a high place in your pedestal. I'm definitely going to try and be the wife he deserves." Lana finished. She finished with such conviction in her voice that Chloe knew she had just pushed Lana resolutely into Lex's arms.

She felt her heart clench for a moment. That hadn't been her goal, at all, but then rethought her feelings. At the end of the day, behind the heat and passion and thoughts of shared cake, deep deep deep down she just wanted Lex to enjoy life and be happy right? She just wanted Lex to have everything he wanted, right?

No. She didn't. The selfishness inside her told her he didn't know what he wanted, and the indignant side of her said that Lex would always come second best to Clark in Lana's eyes so he would never truly be happy.

It was all excuses, and she wasn't weak. Lex had taught her not to be weak. So she pushed down those revolting emotions inside of her and put on a bright smile as she pulled Lana into a side hug that yelled of cheerfulness and sudden carefreeness.

It gave Lana hope that everything would be okay.

Lex had reached the room and turned to face the girls. What he saw warned his heart but made him suspicious. Chloe and Lana hugging and walking as if nothing was wrong, sat apprehensively in his stomach because Lex wasn't stupid enough to believe Chloe had forgotten his touch from a few days ago or that they were always in some never ending war.

"Lex! Where's that chocolate cake?" Chloe yelled to him gleefully. It was filled with youthfulness and enthusiasm, and it reminded him of a time where she had been walking with stars in her eyes and thought that she could fix the world one high school article at a time. He couldn't help but smile.

"Who said anything about chocolate?" Lex rebutted and the spar began as he saw the frown grow on her face. No one messed with Chloe Sullivan's chocolate cake.

Lex turned and walked into the room, laughing loudly. Life wasn't perfect, but with moments like that, life sure was good, and it was enough for now.

-TBC-

A.N – Well, how did everyone like it? I tried to keep everyone in character but I might have failed a bit. Sorry. But let me know what you guys think. :)


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